STAFF WRITER
Namibia must urgently find ways to meet the growing water needs of its green hydrogen industry without putting pressure on water supplies for households, experts have warned.
Speaking at the DryHy Research Workshop in Windhoek last week, Director of the Institute for Energy and Climate Research (IEK), Rudiger Eichel, said the country’s green hydrogen ambitions will require large volumes of highly purified water at a time when Namibia remains one of the world’s most water-scarce nations.
“Namibia has huge potential for green hydrogen because of its vast renewable energy resources. What we have, however, to take into account is the water-energy nexus,” Eichel said.
Namibia receives an average of about 250 to 350 millimeters of rain per year, making it the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa. However, this rainfall is heavily skewed and varies drastically depending on the region.
At the same time, the country is positioning itself as a major green hydrogen producer. It currently hosts eight large-scale green hydrogen and green industrialisation projects with a combined investment potential of about €20 billion (N$390 billion to N$410 billion).
The flagship project is the Hyphen Hydrogen Project in the Tsau //Khaeb National Park, which is expected to attract investment of around US$10 billion (N$180 billion to N$200 billion).
According to the International PtX Hub’s Sustainability Briefing, producing one kilogramme of hydrogen through water electrolysis requires between nine and 30 litres of fresh water.
Eichel said this creates a challenge for countries such as Namibia, where water is already under pressure.
“To produce green hydrogen with state-of-the-art technologies, you need water of a high purity, even higher than drinking water. But if you want to produce green hydrogen, you certainly do not want to take away drinking water from your population,” he said.
He said Namibia should invest in technologies that can produce highly purified water for industrial use while also supporting national water needs.
That challenge is at the centre of the DryHy research project, which is exploring ways to produce hydrogen and methanol without relying on groundwater or desalination.
The project uses a direct air capture system that extracts carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while also recovering water as a by-product. The captured carbon dioxide is then combined with water in a high-temperature electrolyser to produce synthesis gas, which is later converted into methanol.
The approach could reduce reliance on scarce freshwater resources and lower the need for expensive desalination infrastructure.
The research programme has been running from 2024 and is expected to conclude this year.
Eichel said the project was designed to answer a simple question: can green hydrogen technologies produce more water than they consume?
“We asked ourselves whether we can develop a technology that is water-positive and suitable for arid regions. If successful, it could even produce surplus demineralised water for other uses,” he said.
Namibia is already investing heavily in water security.
In 2025, the government allocated N$2.8 billion under the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework for priority water and sanitation infrastructure. The funding covers rural water supply schemes and sanitation facilities.
The country has also spent N$45 million on a joint feasibility study with South Africa for the Noordoewer-Vioolsdrift Dam project.
Speaking at the AU-AIP Water Investment Summit last year, Inge Zaamwani-Kamwi said water security is closely linked to food production, energy supply, public health, tourism and economic competitiveness.
Executive Director of the Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management, Nelago Indongo, said new industrial projects must be designed with water efficiency in mind.
“The innovations being advanced through the DryHy project are well suited to Namibia’s conditions as an arid country, where climate-resilient and resource-efficient solutions are essential for sustainable growth and development,” she said.
DryHy Research Project Coordinator Peter Letmathe said the next step is to build a pilot plant in Namibia to demonstrate the technology’s commercial viability.
“We aim for business models that are socially beneficial. The next phase must be a pilot project here in Namibia. From there, we can move towards commercialisation and broader use by society,” Letmathe said.
The DryHy project brings together several research institutions, including the Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management, Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen University.
Industry partners include Volkswagen Group and FEV Europe GmbH.
COMMENTS